Car-door.



2.3. ENGLISH.

GAR DOOR. APPLICATION FILED AUG, 6.1908.

Patented June 8, 1909.

7 the inwardly converging walls of UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ZEB R. ENGLISH, OF MILTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGN OR OF ONE-FOURTH TO REUBEN M. ENGLISH, OF OOGAN HOUSE TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 8, 1909.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ZEB R. ENGLIsrr, a citizen of the United States, residing at M11- ton, in the county of N orthumberland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Car-Door, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to car doors of that type designed, when closed, to lie flush with the outer surface of the car wall.

The object of the invention is to provide a door of this character mounted upon a shiftable track, means being provided wher by the track can be moved against, or away from the wall of the car, so as to hold the door either within the door opening or at a point removed from the wall, said door when in the last mentioned position, being capable of moving in a plane parallel with the car wall.

A further object is to provide simple and efficient means for locking the rails in either of the positions which may be assumed by them.

A further object is to provide simple and efiicient means for locking the door in closed position.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinationsof parts hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of car showing the door applied thereto, said door being locked in closed position. Fig. 2 is a section on line AB Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on line C--D Fig. 1, thedoor being shown open. Fig. a is an enlarged section through the upper bolt of the door lock and through the keeper provided therefor. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the rail-actuating lever.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, A designates a ortion of a. car wall and the door-opening a has its walls converging inwardly as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. The door 1 is constructed of any suitable material, preferably wood, and has its edges beveled as indicated at 2,-so that when the door is located within the opening a its beveled edges will bear firmly upon the dooropening. Moreover the door is so propori tioned that when it is located within the I door-opening a the outer face of the door will lie flush with the corresponding face of the car wall. Secured to the wall of the car and directly above the door-opening a is an outwardly and downwardly inclined strip 3 constituting a water-shed. This strip also serves as a keeper for the door lock as will be hereinafter set forth.

Secured to the outer surface of the car wall adjacent the upper and lower portions of one side of the door-opening a are brackets 1, constituting bearings for crank arms 5 formed at one end of the upper and lower rails (3 and 7 respectively, constituting the track on which the car door is mounted. Similar bearing brackets Sare secured upon the outer surface of the car-wall at points considerably removed from the door opening a and these brackets 8 constitute bearings for cranks 9, formed at the other ends of the rails 6 and 7. Stop'fingers 10 extend from the ends of the crank-arms 5 and are designed, when said arms are disposed perpendicularly to the car wall, to bear against wear-plates 11 secured to the car wall, and thus support the rails in position beyond the car wall. The terminals of the cranks 9 are connected by a bar 12, so that simultaneous movement of the two cranks 9 and the rails formed therewith is insured. An actuating lever 13 is pivotally mounted upon a bracket 14 secured to the car wall and is pivotally connected as at 15 to the connecting bar 12, the distance between the fulcrum of lever 13 and the pivot 15 being equal to the radius of the are described by the rail 6 or 7 when moving toward or from the car Wall. A hook 16 extends from the lever 13 and constitutes a stop or support for a holding ring 17 slidably mounted on the bar 12. This ring is designed to be supported out of locking position by a hook or curved stud 18 extending from the upper portion of the bar 12. Vhen, however, the lever 13 has been swung into position parallel with the bar 12, the ring 17 can be disengaged from the stud 18 and slid downward over the upper end of the lever 13 until it comes into contact with the hook 16. hen the parts are thus engaged the rails 6 and 7 are obviously held in elevated positions and in contact with the car wall.

Secured to the car wall at points between I the door-opening a and the brackets 4 are stop brackets 19 constituting abutments The sides and bottom of the i for the door 1.

door are provided with longitudinally extending cleats 20 designed, when the door is within the opening a to lap the edges of the door-opening so as to seal the same.

Sei cured to the lower portion of the door;

adjacent each side edge are brackets 21. Grooved wheels 22 are mounted witlun the brackets 21 and bear upon the lower rail T,

which rail, as shown in Fig. 1, extends through the brackets 21.

serve to prevent the wheels 22 from lifting off of the rail.

The lower portions of the brackets extend under this rail and Secured to the upper portion of the door 1 I projectinto engagement with keepers provided therefor. ater-shed 3 constitutes a keeper for one of the bolts, while the other bolt has a keeper 29 which is secured to the car wall directly below the door-opening a. A strap 30 is hingedly connected to one end of the lever 25 and constitutes a hasp designed to be moved into engagement with a staple 31 extending from the car door and through which a seal may be inserted.

Such. a seal has been indicated at 32.

When it is desired to open the door herein described the hasp 30 is unfastened from the staple 31 and the lever 25 is swung upon its pivot so as to withdraw the bolts '26 from their keepers. The ring 17 is then lifted out of engagement with the lever 13 and placed upon the hook 1S. Said lever 13 is then swung downwardly and will produce a corresponding movement of the bar 12 and the cranks 9, and the two rails G and 7 will therefore'be shifted into position beyond the wall of the car and with the cranks 9 and 5 sub- 1 stantially perpendicular to the wall of the car. This outward movement of the rails is limited by the fingers 10 coming into contact; with the plates 11. lVhen the rails are shitted outwardly in this manner they will obviously carry the door 1 therewith, and as soon as the door is withdrawn from the opening u in this manner it becomes possible to shift the door longitudinally along the rails G and 7. By reversing the foregoing operation. the door can be closed and locked.

hat is claimed is 1. The combination with a car structure. of upper and lower rails, each rail having integral cranks journaled upon the car structure. said rails extending longitudinally ot the structure and being mounted to swing upwardly and downwardly with relation to said structure, a connection between the rails for causing the simultaneous movement of both rails in the same directiom means for actuating the said connection, and means for detachably securing said actuating means to the connection for locking the rails against movement when shifted out of normal position, and a door slidably mounted at its ends upon the respective rails, both ends of the door being movable with the adjoining rails.

The combination with a car structure, of upper and lower parallel rails extending longitudinally of the structure, each rail having a crank adjacent its ends, said crank being journaled upon the car structure and the rails being mounted to swing upwardly or downwardly with relation to the said structure, a car door movably mounted at its ends upon the respective rails. a bar connccting the rails at one end, a lever pivotally mounted upon the car structure and pivotally connected to the bar. and means slidably mounted upon the bar for engaging the lever to lock it against movement with relation to the bar.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, l have hereto atiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ZEB R. lGNtlLlSll.

Witnesses:

Mvnox Rum), M. J. CALDWELL.

tit) 

